tsc-clave

[tsc-clave]

ARE YOU KIDDING I LOVE IT

[tsc-clave]

TSC characters as some of my favorite songs from my favorite artists, a self indulgent post to re-emerge from the shadows

Nola 1, PVRIS • Simon

"don't know where I went wrong, don't know where I went, no, but I keep singing"

it reminds me of how resilient Simon is, especially after CoHF and his memory loss, he knows how life can change fast and tries to make the best out of it.

Delilah, Florence + The Machine • Cordelia

"and my feet are spinning around, never knew I was a dancer 'till Delilah showed me how"

"drifting through the halls with the sunrise (holding on for your call)"

the first lyric reminds me of the scene in which Cordelia dances and acts, shocking herself after her performance.

the second one represents the longing she feels for James, she's usually quiet about it but her feelings are strong through it all.

I'm not a woman I'm a god, Halsey • Charlotte

"I'm not a woman I'm a god, I'm not a martyr I'm a problem"

Charlotte is a very powerful woman, she's the first female Consul and she commands respect from her male peers. her strength and boldness are what enabled her to pave the way for more inclusiveness in the Clave.

Glory and Gore, Lorde • Isabelle

"no one 'round here's good at keepin' their eyes closed, the sun's startin' to light up when we're walking home, tired little laughs, gold-lie promises, we'll always win at this, I don't ever think about death"

these lyrics make me think about Isabelle, Alec and Jace going demon hunting, pre CoB. she's so fast forward, full of audacity, but soon things will start to change. if you re-read these lyrics thinking about a more grown up Isabelle, you'll find her caustic side, how she tends to downplay what worries her; the dangers of being a Shadowhunter and her loved ones.

Queen of Peace, Florence and The Machine • Emma

"like the stars chase the sun, over the glowing hill I will conquer, blood is running deep, some things never sleep"

this song always makes me think about chivalry, I don't know why, but Emma is as stubborn as these lyrics. some things never sleep indeed, like her passion and the need to find answers about her parents. plus, she wields a mythical sword, like a knight; now the chivalry thing makes more sense.

Dead Weight, PVRIS • Julian

"I can't take it over and over, dead weight hanging off of my shoulder, nothing changes I'm getting colder"

Jules always had a big weight weighing down on him, from an early age, that progressively became bigger. he got through it all, but sometimes he can get as cold as ice and he needs some cuddles.

Hold Me Down, Halsey • Matthew

"saying that I want more, this is what I live for"

Matthew has this way of seeking solace in autodestructive habits, like drinking and enjoying the finest mundane things, so he just continues searching for more while struggling to cope with his problems.

Only If For A Night, Florence and The Machine • Clary

"and the only solution was to stand and fight, and my body was bruised and I was set alight"

Clary never thought of backing off a fight, never. she understood what needed to be done, she understood her pain and just did what was best. I always admired her for having both heart and guts.

Devil In Me, Halsey • Will

"I won't let anyone down if I crawl tonight"

Will struggled a lot with his supposed curse, when he was young, he would never let that be the cause for someone's pain, so whenever he felt down he just picked the pieces up on his own.

Snakes, PVRIS • Jace

"you're a snake, you're a snake, just like the spitting image, fate how's it taste it's your own medicine, make no mistake got 20/20 vision, if I see your face don't think I'm forgiving"

Jace is the best Shadowhunter of his generation, come on, he beat every bad guy and made no mistake. these lyrics just give me his vibes.

Ribs, Lorde • Cristina

"and I never felt more alone, it feels so scary getting old"

"laugh until our ribs get tough, but that will never be enough"

the first lyric makes me think about the last moments in Mexico after her fight with the Rosales brothers, how she feels things changing and the effect time has on people.

the second one is about how she misses being close to Diego, but now she has the clarity to understand that they both grew up and chose different paths.

Is There Somewhere, Halsey • Tessa

"is there somewhere you can meet me? cause I clutched your arms like stairway railings, and you clutched my brain and eased my ailing"

this reminds me of Tessa feeling alone after Will's death and her subsequent distance she took from her family, the only person she has is Brother Zachariah and how he, even though they see each other once a year, helps her cope through the decades.

Homemade Dynamite, Lorde • Christopher

"blowing shit up with homemade dynamite"

need I say more?

#shadowhunters #tsc #the shadowhunters chronicles #the mortal instruments #tmi #the dark artifices #tda #the last hours #tlh #the infernal devices #tid #simon lovelace #simon lewis #julian blackthorn #jules blackthorn #jace herondale #jace lightwood #cordelia carstairs #emma carstairs #charlotte fairchild #matthew fairchild #will herondale #tessa gray #isabelle lightwood #izzy lightwood #christopher lightwood #kit lightwood #cristina rosales

[tsc-clave]

aw thanks for tagging me 🥺 especially because it's been a long time since I was properly active, life can be chaotic ❤️

tessa-gray-and-her-books:

emmablackstairs13:

rinadragomir:

the-reader-who-reads-and-reads:

priorities-as-straight-as-alec:

elettralightwood:

raziyekroos:

ahanahahaha:

anarchist-therapist:

gaylittlelasagna:

darkacademia-lover:

ohnow-holdingthispain:

blxck-heart:

ayatonlyfans:

oikawas-toris:

nightrayv:

fyodcrs:

kunikiiida-kuuun:

kunikinnie:

sebtomm:

wiinterz:

𝐑𝐄𝐂 𝐓𝐇𝐄 𝐀𝐂𝐂𝐎𝐔𝐍𝐓!

what is this? this post is an opportunity to recommend your favorite accounts, like a tag game. you don’t have to be tagged to join and if you aren’t still try to interact!

why does this exist? because tumblr’s algorithm isn’t the best at boosting accounts/posts, plus it’s a good way to self promote your work and others.

who i’m recommending are: @ughgojo @faeaura @izukulus @shoberri @xysthe @hoshiikos @happygoluckyalexis @dejwrites @itadores @a-blue-secret @jkoo-njoo

thank you so much for tagging me dream <3

fhsjfhjs that means so much

some of my recommendations! @pompompurin1028 @os8mu @voidcat @whorefordazai @sonder-paradise @yatsugareboyf @nkhrchuwuya @chuuyasboots @swrdemon @alittlesimp @hanemiso @kunikinnie @tender-rosiey @allisonlol

AHH thank you so much for tagging me I feel so honored 😭 I’m tagging you back because you’re one of my fav writers

You’ve already tagged most of the people I absolutely adore tho HAHA but anyway

@thecoffeelovingfreak @sebtomm @requiem626k @kunikiiida-kuuun

Aww thank you so much for tagging me!! 🥺🥺💕💕 I love all your writings and I genuinely get so excited when I see the notification that you’ve posted!! ❤️🥰

Tagging some of my favourite people!!💖

@wildroserogue @fyodcrs @professor-glasses @requiem626k @bakajinko @j-e-n-e-r-a-l @boredotaku567 @wallpapersandstuff @walking-meme @taiyohima

Ahhhh, thank you!!! You know I love you!! *big hug* 💖💖💖💖

Some of my favorite people! 

@nightrayv @alice-chan-chan @gojosattoru @eijunes @itadorii-yuuji @sattosugu @getouru @karura @villainii @peachymoriarty @d-a-z-a-i @pawshiguro @childeapologist @hanae-ichihara

Thank you sm, Katie!!! You are absolutely on my fave too *hugss* ♡

Fave blogs + lovely people 🥰

@fyodcrs @euvangelos @beast-dazai @eijunes @pannanti @neonganymede @oikawas-toris @lady-tortilla-chip @tohmura @gojosattoru @makiema @alldayxia @rirk-ke @thvnderstcrm

Ahh ty for the tag Ray ><

@smemie @yokelish @ayatonlyfans @wiitchcrrft @shoyotime @lovejar @ambivartence @bakajinko @taiyohima

NO GODDMAN WAY WHY AM I HERE

@goreinahailofbullets me /j @blxck-heart @fierreth-who @dazaishusband @gay–briel @rebel-ramen @lowestechelonabomination <- please check out their art its so so pretty @simmishi03 @tunamayuuu

NO WHAT THE FUCK FINN ARE U HIGH

i-um

@gravityofdiscomfort @kenmas-blue-psp @sweetxochaco @wasteland-panda @kill-the-liiights @akuutaguava @ohnow-holdingthispain @coffee-and-crime @stressedsnake @feigning-folklore @goreinahailofbullets AND EVERYONE ELSE OKAY EVERYONE’S NICE THANK YOU

Thanks for the tag ruby <3333

@remus-kinnie4 @frankly-dear @mystifiedmind @fxbvlously-weird

@witty-writer @darkacademia-lover

This is so sweet omg! Thank you so much <333

@death-and-the-lady13 @frankly-dear @every1-shutup-im-dyinginside (great cat content) @gaylittlelasagna

omgg thank you so much <33 this really means a lot

okay every mutual of mine is amazing but ok fine I’ll tag ….@rocks-in-my-vodka and @anarchist-therapist

aww hi, thank you

tagging:

@cobbledstone @ahanahahaha @ad15124 @anarchistbitch

Ayyyy thank you so much!

@anarchistbitch @raziyekroos @magnus-the-maqnificent @i-am-a-really-good-lawyer @romas-dorogaya @onetimetwotimesthreetimess @wtf-is-reality @priorities-as-straight-as-alec

Omg thanks bb ^^ <33

Some of my amazing mutuals @asterin-carstairs @elettralightwood @chibi-tsukiko @magnus-the-maqnificent @clumsyowl-in-a-fandom @khaleesiofalicante @igonecrazy @onetimetwotimesthreetimess @light-bane08 @ahanahahaha (yes I’m tagging you too what about it asdfghjj)

Aw i might cry🥺 thank u sm✨❤️ and right back at u😭

**cracks nuckles** @gayforcarstairsgirls @alexandergideonslightwood @awecwightwood @bookishjules @rinadragomir @idk-i-just-really-like-tsc @alexander-gideon-lightwood-babe @unorganisedbookshelf @queenlilith43 @sociallyineptbibliophile @totalbookmaniac @my-archerboy @romas-dorogaya @kiwichaeng @magnus-the-maqnificent @ahanahahaha @i-am-a-really-good-lawyer @noah-herondale-lightwood @chibi-tsukiko @onetimetwotimesthreetimess @wtf-is-reality @khaleesiofalicante @victavare @light-bane08 @anarchistbitch @ninacarstairss @fantasticcolorcloudflap @vierss-05 @priorities-as-straight-as-alec @carelessflower @jaceherondale780 and a lot of other amazing people😫

ahh thank you smmm (and @ahanahahaha ilyt)

u tagged nearly everyone but also @winterdollsblog @learningshelfcontrol @the-reader-who-reads-and-reads @lucian-evander <3

Aww, thanks

I’ll tag

@people-wxtching 

@the-desi-theyshe

@rinadragomir

@priorities-as-straight-as-alec

@imwastingmylifehere

@gracej07

@completeanduttermess

@bluebeadss

Thank you so much @the-reader-who-reads-and-reads @elettralightwood @jaceherondale780 🥺⭐🐣✨🌙🌛

@dustandducks @bookishjules @gayforcarstairsgirls @hotdog-frenchfries @magnus-the-maqnificent @shadowhunters-trove @emmablackstairs13 @radisv @thestarkster1465 @noah-herondale-lightwood @lifeofbrybooks @judbooks @casualsthings @my-archerboy

NO STOP THANK YOU RINA<33

I’ll tag @im-dust-and-shadows @books-and-wonders @noah-herondale-lightwood @lxdyblackthorn @awecwightwood @shadowhunterstrashworld @julescarstairs @princess-daki @the-reader-who-reads-and-reads @shadowhuntersships @tessa-gray-and-her-books

Thank you so much!

I’ll tag: @thepictureofsdr @the-reader-who-reads-and-reads @emmablackstairs13 @ahanahahaha @rinadragomir @days-until-cot @herondale-supremacy @matthewfairchilds-slut @fantasticcolorcloudflap @lariablog @vierss-05 @julescarstairs @josiecarstairs @make-me-ur-aphrodite @youngreckless @thomastaircompassrose @clarys-fairchild @chain-of-bronze

How sweet of you for tagging me in this! I have to say that you two are actually part of my favorite tumblrs, so it means a lot! 🥰✨

So I’m tagging these: @aroace-cat-lady @bookclarysupremacy @beclynn-herondale @carstairsa @clarys-fairchild @demonhunter1234 @hannahs-kudos @incorrect-tsc-quotes @i-am-gay-so-very-gay @letswritestories101 @lienzoblanco @notyourbitchsblog @sansyvue @28onlythebrave @saltyfrenchfrys @tsc-clave @tscclace @the-dark-artifices-trees @vickchan2 @writingquestionsanswered @peraltiagonet

[tsc-clave]

everybody say happy birthday to the one and only!!

Everybody say happy birthday to Jace Herondale!

Our beloved angel boy is 31, he was born on the 18th of January of 1991 in Idris.

He has been portrayed by Jamie Campbell Bower in the movie adaptation of City of Bones...

...and by Dominic Sherwood in the tv series.

what do you need to know about him?

his full name is Jonathan Christopher Lightwood-Herondale

he’s Clary Fairchild’s fiancée

he’s Alec Lightwood’s Parabatai

he’s Isabelle, Alec and Max Lightwood’s adoptive brother

he was once called Jace Wayland because Valentine, who raised him, took Michael’s Wayland identity. he never permitted Jace to see other kids, but he gave him knowledge and even a falcon, which Valentine killed later on because Jace trained him with love. in fact, between the two Jonathan, Jace was the softer one and Valentine considered him both a failure and lovable

his biological parents are Céline Montclaire and Stephen Herondale. who knew them says that Jace resembles Stephen, except for the eyes area, who is very similar to Céline’s. Stephen got killed and Céline committed suicide short after, but Valentine and Hodge managed to save unborn Jace

Jace has extra angelic blood, it is due to Valentine treatments to Céline while she was pregnant. this gives him extra strength, and that’s why - partly - he’s considered the best Shadowhunter of his age

Jace went to New York when he was 11, being welcomed by the Lightwood family, after Valentine inscenate his death

he had only one toy, a little soldier, who he later gave to little Max Lightwood

Will Herondale and Tessa Gray are his ancestors, while Kit Rook is a distant relative

his Herondale ring once belonged to James Herondale, Tessa’s son. he wears it, but he etched the Lightwood’s torch on the inside

Clary described him as lion-like. in fact, he’s muscular and 5’11 tall, but he has a chipped upper incisor. his golden eyes and star-shaped birthmark on his left shoulder are all inherited: golden eyes from Tessa’s heritage, the birthmark is present on every Herondale starting from Will and Ithuriel’s encounter

he once had a demonic bond to Sebastian Morgenstern, his “step-brother”, thanks to Lilith. that caused Jace to lose his will

he wore Sebastian’s bracelet until he found him again in Edom, there he gave it back

he was possessed by Heavenly Fire after Clary stabbed him with Glorious, to cut the demonic bond. fortunately he was cured and meanwhile Jordan Kyle helped him control the Fire

he’s the head of the New York institute along with Clary

he wears an adamas ring that has etched “l’amor che move il sole e l’altre stelle” on the inside, identical to Clary’s one because those are the rings they exchanged during their proposal

he had a Morgenstern ring, which he gave to Clary

he’s left handed, so his Voyance rune is on his left hand

he can play the piano

he can speak multiple languages like Italian, Latin, French, Romanian and more

he wrote a song dedicated to Chairman Meow with Simon, it’s called “Come Back, Meow”

he’s very skilled at armed/unarmed hand-to-hand combat and swordsmanship

he can quote different pieces of literature, even in different languages

he loves Chinese food and mangoes

he hates cucumbers, bergamot and Earl Grey tea

Herondales hate ducks, so does Jace

he likes his coffee black and sour

when he was little he asked his father to give him a spaghetti bath as a birthday gift, and he did it

“Jace” is a nickname, it comes from the initials of his two names. Maryse came up with this name

apparently he shares a toothbrush with Clary and that’s disturbing but who am I to judge

( credits to @cassandrajp and to the owners of the gifs )

#happy birthday jace #shadowhunters #the shadowhunters chronicles #tsc #jace wayland #jace herondale #jace lightwood #tmi #the mortal instruments

[tsc-clave]

hopping in!

hello everyone, I hope you had nice holidays and a nice start of the year.

I'm very sorry about my inactivity on here, I meant to be more present, but low motivation, working, studying and catching covid (I swear I don't know how) delayed all my good intentions.

right now I'm still quarantining and curing myself, plus exam time is here, so I'll slowly try to catch things up and eventually I'll be here more often.

I really hope you're all good and having a great time, if not I still check my inbox so feel free to reach out.

lots of love, Jay 🌹

#shadowhunters #tsc #tsc-clave #❤️

[tsc-clave]

hopping in!

hello everyone, I hope you had nice holidays and a nice start of the year.

I'm very sorry about my inactivity on here, I meant to be more present, but low motivation, working, studying and catching covid (I swear I don't know how) delayed all my good intentions.

right now I'm still quarantining and curing myself, plus exam time is here, so I'll slowly try to catch things up and eventually I'll be here more often.

I really hope you're all good and having a great time, if not I still check my inbox so feel free to reach out.

lots of love, Jay 🌹

[tsc-clave]

chag Chanukkah sameach to those who celebrate!!

[tsc-clave]

happiest of birthdays to the man of our dreams

Everybody say happy birthday to Jem Carstairs!

Our lovely Jem is 161, he was born on the 8th of November of 1860 in Shanghai.

Jem, as Brother Snackariah Zachariah, was featured in the tv series, portrayed by Jonathan Ho.

what do you need to know about him?

Jem’s parents were the head of the Istitute of Shanghai, but they were killed by the Greater Demon Yanluo and Jem was poisoned and addicted to the demonic substance Yin Fen

his Chinese name is Ke Jian Ming

he refused to go to Idris with his uncle, preferring the Institute of London because of his growing friendship with Will Herondale

his illness was due to Yanluo’s torture, he had to keep taking Yin Fen even though it weakened him. his silver eyes and hair were due to this

he was Will Herondale’s Parabatai

he was engaged to Tessa, gifting her a pendant of jade that belonged to his mother, but he had to delay their marriage due to his drastic decision to join the Silent Brothers in order to be cured

he had a dragon-headed walking stick that hid a sword, his favorite weapon

his name in the Brotherhood was Brother Zachariah. this name means “remembrance”, which suits perfectly

every year he would meet Tessa at the Blackfriars Bridge, until 2008. in that year he left the Silent Brothers, cured, with his original black eyes and black hair with a silver strand

eventually, Jem and Tessa married and they started searching the remaining Herondale bloodline

he’s the father of Wilhelmina Carstairs and the adoptive father of Kit Herondale

he is fluent in English and Mandarin

he’s a great violinist

he likes the music of the 21st century

his favorite ice cream flavor is maple walnut

his Parabatai rune, now white, is on his shoulder

he could maintain a young appearance because during the time he spent as a Silent Brother his aging process stopped

he deeply loves Church, an immortal cat, and his love is requited

( credits to @cassandrajp and to the owner of the gif )

#shadowhunters #the shadowhunters chronicles #tsc #tid #the infernal devices #jem carstairs

[tsc-clave]

the boy's up to something huh

Dru texts Kit

[tsc-clave]

The Very Secret Diary of Miss Tatiana Lightwood

6:00 p.m.

Dear Diary, I am inconsolable. As planned, I importuned Papa to beg him for mercy. It was my last-ditch attempt to be permitted to stay home tonight rather than to attend the ball at the Institute. It was a bad plan, I recognize now. He was in his private study, and he hates to be interrupted there; when I came in he had only an unfriendly look for me, and I should have retreated right then. Lessons learned, I suppose.

The upshot is that I, quote, must, unquote, attend the ball at the Institute tonight, as—so I am told—the Name of the Lightwoods depends upon it. I told him that if Gabriel attended — as Gideon has abandoned us for Spain — this would surely be enough to show the Lightwood flag. But he only shook his head, muttered something about how “tongues would wag,” and waved me away. I suggested that I could be reported to be unable to attend due to temporary illness of a non-specified womanly nature. For that suggestion I was cast out of the study immediately, of course.

The name of the Lightwoods! What care I for the name of the Lightwoods? What good has the name of the Lightwoods ever done for me? My only purpose in life, after all, is meant to be to find a better last name to replace it with. And what a grand entrance I will make at this party towards that purpose, attending the ball on the arms of my disgusting brothers, my escorts of last resort.

Not that I will find any sympathy in this house. Gabriel seems perfectly happy to attend the ball without escorting any lady besides his sister. He does not understand, being soft of brain and even softer of heart, that the favor of our father is bestowed easily, carelessly, upon him, because he is a boy, whereas I must work ten times as hard for less than one-tenth the approval. By the Angel…Gideon abandoned the family to drink wine and sun himself in Spain, and Papa still treats him better than me. His travel year! As though it is some unbreachable commandment handed down by Raziel himself. It is tradition and tradition is happily broken for the sake of family. We need Gideon here—Papa needs Gideon here. I will never forgive him for having left us, the great lummox.

Gabriel, of course, only grows worse in the absence of his personal hero Hideous Gideon. He wishes to be taken seriously now and so he acts like Father, and it is like watching a dog try to walk on its hind legs. An embarrassment of pomposity and egomania the like of which is, I daresay, a black mark on the Lightwood name far worse than any harm I could do by staying home from a party.

I go now to dress for the ball, weighed down by the burden of my fate.

Midnight

Dear Diary, I know I am not in the habit of writing more than once in a day but I had to take you up immediately upon returning from the party because a miracle has occurred. I have met a boy—no, a man, a wonderful man. His name is Rupert Blackthorn — though he is not one of the tedious Blackthorns from the Cornwall Institute. He usually lives in Leeds, but he is here visiting family friends. He is the most beautiful man ever to have lived. His hair is deep black as midnight, and his eyes are emerald orbs that gaze into one’s soul. Every girl in the Institute was watching him, hoping he would give them a dance, and he came right to me, without hesitation, and smiled at me and asked me. And I danced with him and it was glorious. Even better yet, he had no interest in anyone at the party but me. I do believe he even gave Gabriel the cut direct when Gabriel tried to start talking about himself, at one point. I am not entirely sure; it was quite loud and he might only not have heard. But I choose to believe it was a deliberate snub. From the most desirable boy in the whole detestable building.

When I wrote earlier I was the lowest of the low in this house, but now I am raised up triumphant. I danced with a beautiful dark-haired man who said my name as though it were poetry. The name of the Lightwoods indeed! Take that, Will Herondale!

[tsc-clave]

the clave has a very particular way of labeling accidents I see

BUT LOOK AT THE LYNX

TY TO JULIAN AND EMMA

Hi Julian and Emma,

There are lots of things in this letter, so I have made them into an ordered list.

Don’t worry. The device I’ve included is not dangerous and is in no danger of exploding. (Obviously.) (When Professor Hardcastle saw me packing it up, she suggested I tell you up front it is not a bomb. I told her that you know I would never send you anything dangerous without taking all appropriate precautions. She said yes, but it looks like a bomb.)

I started looking through the records. Nothing so far about Blackthorn Hall being haunted. Plenty of weird stuff happened there in the past, so it’s definitely possible there are ghosts that haven’t been reported. But I’ll bet plenty of weird stuff has happened at every big old Shadowhunter manor. Are all of them haunted? Now that I think about: it’s possible.

I’m not done with the records yet, just letting you know what I’ve found so far. I’m still looking. The library is huge, and the Cohort left it very disorganized. So finding particular documents can be a challenge. Genealogies aren’t hard to come by, but given all the intermarrying among Shadowhunter families there’s a lot of tracing up and down ancestors and cross-referencing, and yes, I know what you’re going to say, and I do like cross-referencing. But the volume is still very high. Also, Professor Loss warned me that a lot of the Shadowhunter family trees are inaccurate, and there was a period where Shadowhunter families would create fanciful family trees, like a… marriage wish list. But there’s some accurate truth beneath all this mess and I am resolved to find it.

The only thing I’ve learned that might be helpful so far is that before the place was Blackthorn Hall, it was Lightwood House, and occupied in the mid-19th century by a Benedict Lightwood who got into some kind of legal trouble. I’m not sure what kind. His death is recorded as by “misadventure,” but that could mean anything. Oh, and there are records of demons being found on the grounds at various points but that doesn’t mean anything, sometimes demons wander onto grounds.

You probably find this lack of information frustrating. I find it frustrating. I will be devoting myself to uncovering the history of this house in the fashion of Sherlock Holmes, although I do not have the hat with me.

On the topic of the Scholomance, and how I am doing here. I have been putting together a curriculum, with the help of Prof. Loss, aimed in the direction of investigation and detection. So far it includes: Signs & Sigils, Alchemy (closest I will get here to forensics), Tracking, Law, and Downworld Relations (apparently this one used to be a real doozy back in the pre-Accords days, when it was called “Interrogation.” The older profs still call it that sometimes). You will see the glaring omission here. I need a course on criminology, but the term only dates to the late 1800s and that is not nearly enough time for the Scholomance to have put together a class by now. They move very slowly.

This is maybe more like 6A. A friend suggested that I put together my own syllabus for a course on the history of non-mundane crime. That sounded good to me, so I’ve been doing that on top of my own academic work.

The device. Since the situation sounds urgent and I don’t have much yet, Anush and I rushed to put this together for you. It’s a modified Sensor—instead of picking up demonic energies, it’s sensitive to spectral energies. At least, it’s supposed to be. The design is theoretically very sound, but I admit this is the first prototype. Normally I would want to go through a couple of revisions before I shared it with anyone, but I trust you. So I hope it works and will help you to feel better about the house. I would appreciate it if you tell me anything about it that doesn’t work, or that works differently than you expect, or functionality you’d like it to have, so we can put those changes into the next version. This is Anush and my first real invention, and it’s more like a hack for an existing tool. Anyway, the more feedback you can provide, the better.

Will you send me a fire-message next time you’re going into London? I’d like you to pick up a couple things for me. I should have expected this, but it’s really hard to do any shopping in the Carpathian mountains.

Love,

Ty

PS. If you do find a ghost, treat it kindly. I don’t think all ghosts mind being ghosts, as long as people are nice to them.

[tsc-clave]

Julian baby get some rest I beg you 😭

Mark to Ty

Greetings and Salutations, Tiberius.

I hope this missive finds you well at the Scholomance. For my own part, I am rather hungover. We took to the clubs of London and ended up swept away in the festivities of Kraig’s retirement party. ‘Who is Kraig?’ you may ask. That is a very good question, Tiberius. As of this morning, I have no idea.

You will be relieved to know that none of this is why I’m writing to you. It’s rather about what happened afterwards.

As you know, Julian and Emma are staying at Blackthorn Hall, attempting to get it fixed up. Emma has been going through stacks of old papers and ephemera, and Julian has been dealing with the particulars of the needed repairs. Julian also mentioned that he’s been working on a mural, though he keeps it covered with a cloth so I don’t know what it depicts. Whatever the subject matter, I am glad that he is finding time to paint.

This is my first visit to Blackthorn Hall since I was a child, and I must say that Julian and Emma have their work cut out for them. Especially because it seems to be haunted.

Yes, haunted. I woke early this morning to the sound of an exclamation. Having passed out upon the stairs for some reason, I was directly across the hall from the ballroom, where I found Julian in the throes of dismay. There was paint spilled all over the ballroom floor. Julian has been working on the mural up there, and was quite upset by the mess. I wondered whether wild animals could have been responsible—the place certainly looks like it could be harboring numerous bands of cunning raccoons *—but then I saw that there were footsteps in the paint. They looked to be old-fashioned shoes, not like any soles I’d seen before. Since the house itself contains many garments of earlier eras, we looked for matches, but found none.

I felt a sort of chill in the ballroom that reminded me of my time with the Hunt. A hint of the cold of the grave. I suppose that is why I am inclined to agree with Emma and Julian that this mess is the work of a mischievous ghost, and not a strangely-dressed housebreaking vagrant. (Emma mentioned the term ‘cosplay’ but I do not know what that means.)

Julian, being who he is, blames himself. He keeps muttering about how he shouldn’t have gone out, how it’s his responsibility to take care of the place, and so on. You know how hard he can be on himself. I hate to hear it. I’d like to get to the bottom of this—for Julian’s sake, for the restoration of the house, and for the sake of all of us, because mopping up so much paint was not enjoyable, especially with a clanging headache—and that is why I am appealing to you, Ty, for aid. You’re at the Scholomance, and as a student you have at your fingertips a vast quantity of books, family trees, and historical records. Could you look and see if there are any references to Blackthorn Hall being haunted? If we know who the ghost is, it will be much easier to dispel them—lay them to rest, I should say. I cannot imagine it is enjoyable to be a ghost.

Please reply to Julian with any information, for unfortunately Kieran, Cristina and I must depart the day after tomorrow; Kieran cannot be away from the Land too long, and Cristina and I have work to do in New York.

I must go—Kieran has come to fetch me. Cristina and Emma have prepared a cream tea in an effort to lighten the mood. Kieran assures me that the sandwiches are extremely tiny, and that he cut the crusts off himself, with great accuracy.

I love you, Tiberius. I wish you were here with us, but I know you are doing great work in the Scholomance. I am proud to be your brother.

MARK

* Julian informs me there are no raccoons in England, whatever Disney films might have indicated to the contrary. I cannot express the depth of my betrayal.

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oh my god I'm alive again on this site let me get to the SoBH content

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Kieran to General Winter

General Winter,

Three sunsets. I told you, I have three sunsets. I will be back in just that amount of time. It is not a very long amount of time. And yet you have written to me, spent your valuable time and mine because you could not wait three sunsets to know whether I prefer velvet in midnight blue or one in more of an eggplant, I believe was your phrase.

Forgive me my temper. I am not really angry with you. I am only somewhat out of sorts this morning, after a night of merriment and whimsy on the streets of London-Town, along with my Nephilim friends. Now, obviously any faerie revel contains such dark delights as mortals can only dream, and so on. But after the previous night I must concede a grudging respect for the reveling capacities of an unexpected group: London businessmen of late middle-age. In our journeys we encountered what is known here as a “Retirement Party,” a kind of movable feast in which these businessmen traverse the city in celebration of a chosen one. In this case I knew him only as “Kraig.”

We met his Party thrice last night! The first time, at the Tongue & Grapes, we shared only a mutual acknowledgement of fellow celebrants passing in the night. The second time, at the Inn of the Shaved Werewolf, there were mutual roars of recognition from both parties, and a ceremonial exchange of beverages, as is custom. And the third time, at the Pigeon & Spoon, we were welcomed and—a great honor—inducted as honorary members of the Party, whereupon we were bestowed with festive hats and jersey-cotton smocks proclaiming the majesty of the great Kraig.

So you will understand if I am shorter of patience than I would like, this day, for I have a vile headache engendered by too much of what mortals call “shandy”, a repellent beverage with a kick like an angry kelpie. It quite left my darling Cristina asleep on a rather sticky table at the Pigeon and Spoon; Mark and I had to carry her back to the Institute. She is awake now, of course, and demanding coffee with rather more force than usual. Given that my time is short, I shall endeavor to answer your queries as well as I can.

I like the midnight blue, for the throne room. I think it sets off the creeping vines well, and also I think that you were hinting you prefer it as well. Next, I am in general agreement that the overall aesthetic of the throne rooms should move in the direction of an opulent Gothic feel, rather than its previous occupant’s preferred mood of “blasted hellscape.” Let us remind our Court that we are the Moon, as the Seelie Court is the Sun; rather than that they are Beauty, and we Tackiness.

However, I disagree about the skulls. I think they should remain. Skulls are perfectly appropriate in an opulent Gothic setting. In fact, I am hard-pressed to think of a style in which skulls would not be an improving presence. If such a style exists, it would definitely not be a good choice for the throne rooms of the Unseelie Lord, let us at least agree upon that.

Lastly, I am disturbed to hear that the Seelie Court continues to rebuff my requests for a summit of peace. You were right when you noted your suspicions earlier; they have become more secretive in this past year, even for them. We will see if our scouts manage to learn anything, although in my experience our scouts mostly seem to fall into forbidden romances with Seelie scouts and then they run off together; we lose something like four out of five that way. I suppose what I am saying is that I am not exactly holding my breath. (A charming human expression, is that not?)

You do not need to suggest to me that I contact Adaon; he is my own brother and I speak with him often. Whenever I bring up the possibility of a united court, or a meeting between myself and the Seelie Queen, he says the same thing: now is not the time for a summit that might lead to discord — now is the time to preserve the fragile peace between the two courts by leaving well enough alone. He has the Queen’s ear, so I must trust he knows what I do not. Still, you know it is not in my nature to do nothing and call it progress.

Speaking of that fragile peace, I must inquire—have your redcaps learned any more about the strange presence that has been noted in Faerie, and whether it is beneficial or antagonistic to our interests? I feel it through my connection to the Land — I am woken sometimes, feeling that presence I cannot define, knowing it is both of Faerie and not of it, and that the Land itself is afraid.

Enough of that. I trust that you can manage to keep the Court in working order for the thirty-six remaining hours I will be gone. If more color selection is necessary before my return, I trust you to go with your instincts, which have always served you well.

Until then I have the honor to remain Your Eternal Sovereign, Master of the Hob and the Domovoi, Breaker of the Broken Lands, Crown Under the Hill, Dark Star of the Evening, Friend of Kraig, and King of the Unseelie Court —

Kieran

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Emma to Diary

Dear Diary — that’s how you’re supposed to start off, right? I feel kind of silly writing this, since I never thought I’d keep a diary, but what can I say. I guess Tatiana Lightwood inspired me. I feel like I should give the diary a name though, something friendly, so I can write “Dear Clara” or “Dear Bruce” instead of Dear Diary. Bruce is growing on me, actually.

So I thought I could use this to organize my thoughts. I’ve been jotting things down in little notebooks the whole time Jules and I have been traveling. (Did you know that there are a lot of fey creatures who have been incorrectly classified as demonic by the Clave? Like Curupiras? Most of the old bestiaries direly need correcting.)

It’s actually quite odd to be standing still after rushing around the globe for nearly a year. Julian has really thrown himself into this whole restoration project. I think it appeals to his sense of care and deliberation. He loves working with his hands (and I like watching him work with his hands) and figuring out projects. In addition to everything else, he’s painting a mural in the ballroom. He won’t let me in to see it. He says it’s a surprise so I have to live in suspense, I guess!

I really hope that when this place is all fixed up it does something to de-creepify the place. I joked about it to Dru when I wrote to her but I still get that sense that things are lurking in every shadow. Even when I turn my witchlight up to its brightest, it just highlights the weird cracks in the walls and the strange stains on the plaster. I can’t explain it but I feel like a long time ago, something awful happened here. It’s in the chills up and down my spine, and in the strange way the glass in the windows fogs up for no reason, or the odd cold spot halfway up the stairs. I keep wanting to reach for Cortana, but this isn’t the kind of thing you can fight. It’s just a feeling.

And sometimes it isn’t there — I spent a perfectly normal afternoon today digging through boxes in what used to be the kitchen. We pulled a lot of them up from the cellar (which is so spidery I will plan to refer to it from now on as Spidertown. I haven’t seen this many spiders since Thule. *shudder*)

Some of the boxes have perfectly normal stuff in them. There’s some beautiful silverware and china that belonged to someone named Barbara Pangborn (must have married a Lightwood or Blackthorn.) Fancy linens and tablecloths with the Blackthorn symbol of thorns woven around the edges as a border. A big box of broken toys and china dolls marked “Grace Blackthorn.” There was a runed dagger shoved down among the broken doll heads so my guess is she was a little girl just starting training. Aw! (Though the doll heads are creepy.)

Julian came in when I was partway through unpacking, and decided to help by cleaning out the fireplace grate. He got completely covered in soot and was coughing, so I dragged him into the modern wing, pulled off his shirt, and started mopping him off. And well, he was shirtless and dirty and looking at me with those gorgeous blue-green eyes and what can I say?

I jumped him. We backed into the bedroom kissing like crazy and toppled onto the bed and got soot all over the sheets and it was worth it. (And that’s all the details you get, Bruce. Stop asking.)

I can’t believe I ever thought Jules and I were just friends. It’s almost like I loved him so much I couldn’t see all of it, how big it was. I was standing inside it, looking for that kind of love without realizing I was surrounded by it. Does that make sense, Bruce? I’m not a writer so I’m probably terrible at expressing this kind of thing! I know I often feel like I should tell Julian I love him more, but he never says anything about it, and so I try to tell him in other ways than words. The way I curl up against him when we sleep, the way I come up behind him and hug him when he’s concentrating on something (not when he’s painting, though, or there’d be splotches on all the canvases!) The way — wait a second. Is that someone knocking on the door?

[One hour later]

Bruce! You’re not going to believe it but Cristina is here! And Mark and Kieran are with her! I don’t even know how Kieran managed to get away from Faerieland — something about him making a vow to the land that he’d be here for less than three sunsets — but I’m so happy to see them! Cristina and I danced around like maniacs and hugged each other, and somehow Mark and Kieran managed to convince Julian we should go out tonight and see London. We’re all going to wear clothes from the Super Groovy Sixties closet and hit as many pubs as we can. I can’t wait, Jules and I need a break. London, here we come! Prepare yourself for Partying Shadowhunters!*

*And a faerie King.

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those lines hit me hard I have to be onest